Minimum number of hours per school day
April 2018
There are many exceptions to instructional time requirements across states and not all of them are indicated in this 50-State Comparison. View the full instructional time database here. If you have questions or comments, please contact Sarah Pompelia at spompelia@ecs.org.
| Minimum number of hours per school day | |
| Alabama | 6 hours Notes: Excludes lunch and recess. Citations: Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-3-1-.02 |
| Alaska | Grades 1-3 ~ 4 hours Grades 4-12 ~ 5 hours Notes: Excludes intermissions. Citations: AS § 14.03.040 |
| Arizona | N/A |
| Arkansas | 6 hours/day 30 hours/week Citations: A.C.A. § 6-16-102 |
| California | Kindergarten ~ 3 hours Grades 1-3 ~ 3.83 hours Grades 4-12 ~ 4 hours Notes: State specifies instructional time in minutes. Citations: West's Ann.Cal.Educ.Code § 46112, 46113, 46114, 46117, 46141 |
| Colorado | N/A |
| Connecticut | N/A Notes: Districts may count up to 7 hours/day toward the total required for the year. Citations: C.G.S.A. § 10-16 |
| Delaware | 3.5 hours Notes: Excludes lunch. Citations: 14 Del.C. § 1049 |
| District of Columbia | Grades 1-12 ~ 6 hours Notes: Includes lunch and recess. Citations: D.C. Mun. Regs. Subt. 5-A, § A2100.3 |
| Florida | N/A |
| Georgia | Grades K-3 ~ 4.5 hours Grades 4-5 ~ 5 hours Grades 6-12 ~ 5.5 hours Citations: Ga Comp. R. & Regs. 160-5-1-.02 |
| Hawaii | N/A |
| Idaho | District option Citations: I.C. § 33-512 |
| Illinois | Half-day K ~ 2 hours Full-day K-1 ~ 4 hours Grades 2-12 ~ 5 hours Citations: 105 ILCS 5/18-8.05(F) |
| Indiana | Grades 1-6 ~ 5 hours Grades 7-12 ~ 6 hours Citations: IC 20-30-2-2 |
| Iowa | Grades 1-12 ~ 6 hours/day or 30 hours/week Notes: Excludes lunch. Includes parent-teacher conferences and passing periods. Citations: I.C.A. § 256.7 |
| Kansas | 5 hours Citations: K.S.A. 72-3120 |
| Kentucky | 6 hours Citations: KRS § 158.060 |
| Louisiana | Grades 1-12 ~ 6 hours Notes: Excludes lunch, recess, passing periods and parent-teacher conferences. State specifies instructional time in minutes. Citations: LSA-R.S. 17:154.1 La. Admin Code. tit. 28, Pt CXV, § 333 |
| Maine | Kindergarten ~ 2.5 hours Grades 1-12 ~ 5 hours Notes: Minumum length of a day is 3 hours, but the average over a 2-week period must be at least 5 hours. Citations: 05-071 CMR Ch. 125, § 6.02 |
| Maryland | N/A Notes: Schools must be open for pupil attendance for at least 3 hours. Citations: MD Code, Education, § 7-103 |
| Massachusetts | N/A |
| Michigan | N/A |
| Minnesota | N/A |
| Mississippi | 5.5 hours/day Citations: Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-67 |
| Missouri | 5-day week ~ 3 hours/day 4-day week ~ 4 hours/day Citations: V.A.M.S. 160.041 |
| Montana | N/A |
| Nebraska | N/A |
| Nevada | Kindergarten ~ 2 hours Grades 1-2 ~ 4 hours Grades 3-6 ~ 5 hours Grades 7-12 ~ 5.5 hours Notes: Includes recess and time between lessons. Excludes lunch. Citations: Nev. Admin. Code 387.131 |
| New Hampshire | Elementary schools ~ 5.75 hours Middle and high schools ~ 6 hours Notes: May include up to 30 minutes of recess per day for elementary schools. Citations: N.H. Code Admin. R. 306.18 |
| New Jersey | Full-day K ~ 2.5 hours Grades 1-12 ~ 4 hours Citations: N.J.A.C. 6A:32–8.3 |
| New Mexico | Half-day K ~ 2.5 hours Full-day K-6 ~ 5.5 hours Grades 7-12 ~ 6 hours Citations: N. M. S. A. 1978, § 22-2-8.1 |
| New York | Half-day K ~ 2.5 hours Full-day K-6 ~ 5 hours Grades 7-12 ~ 5.5 hours Citations: Rules of the Regents and Regulations of the Commissioner of Education 175.5 |
| North Carolina | N/A |
| North Dakota | Half-day K ~ 2.75 hours Full-day K ~ 5.5 hours Elementary ~ 5.5 hours High School ~ 6 hours Citations: NDCC § 15.1-22-02 NDCC § 15.1-06-04 |
| Ohio | N/A Citations: R.C. § 3313.48 |
| Oklahoma | 6 hours Citations: 70 Okl.St.Ann. § 1-109 |
| Oregon | N/A Notes: Oregon sets maximum, rather than minimum, hours/day: Grades K-8 ~ 8 hours, Grades 9-12 ~ 8.5 hours. Citations: OAR 581-022-2320 |
| Pennsylvania | Kindergarten ~ 2.5 hours Grades 1-8 ~ 5 hours Grades 9-12 ~ 5.5 hours Citations: 22 Pa. Code § 11.3 22 Pa. Code § 51.61 |
| Rhode Island | Kindergarten ~ 5.5 hours Grades 1-12 ~ 6 hours Citations: Gen.Laws 1956, § 16-99-3 Gen.Laws 1956, § 16-2-2 |
| South Carolina | 6 hours Notes: Includes lunch for elementary schools. Excludes lunch for secondary schools. Citations: Code 1976 § 59-1-425 |
| South Dakota | N/A Citations: SDCL § 13-26-1 |
| Tennessee | Kindergarten ~ 4 hours Grades 1-12 ~ 6.5 hours Citations: T. C. A. § 49-6-201 T. C. A. § 49-6-3004 |
| Texas | 7 hours Citations: V.T.C.A., Education Code § 29.0822 |
| Utah | Kindergarten ~ 2 hours Grades 1-12 ~ 4 hours Citations: U.A.C. R277-419 |
| Vermont | Kindergarten ~ 2 hours/day or 10 hours/week Grades 1-2 ~ 4 hours/day or 20 hours/week Grades 3-8 ~ 5.5 hours/day or 27.5 hours/week Grades 9-12 ~ 5.5 hours/day or 27.5 hours/week Notes: Includes recess and excludes lunch for grades 1-8. Excludes recess and lunch for grades 9-12. Citations: Vermont State Board of Education Manual of Rules and Practices 2312 |
| Virginia | Kindergarten ~ 3 hours Grades 1-12 ~ 5.5 hours Notes: Excludes recess and lunch. Citations: 8 VAC 20-131-150 |
| Washington | N/A |
| West Virginia | Grades K-5 ~ 5.25 hours Grades 6-8 ~ 5.5 hours Grades 9-12 ~ 5.75 hours Citations: W. Va. Code, § 18-5-45 |
| Wisconsin | N/A |
| Wyoming | N/A |
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